Technology Department

Introduction

As part of continual efforts to provide students with greater opportunities to learn, engage, communicate, and develop skills, the Gilpin County School District RE-1 (GCSD) provides students with G Suite for Education accounts. G Suite for Education is a collection of free programs including email, document creation tools, and collaboration tools that are accessed through a web browser. Commonly referred to as working "in the cloud," G Suite for Education provides access to documents and projects from any Internet connected computer or other compatible device, enabling faculty and students to access their school documents and projects both in and out of school.

G Suite for Education services are available through an agreement between Google and GCSD. G Suite for Education runs on an internet domain purchased and managed by GCSD and is intended for educational use. Accounts and settings are managed by GCSD and all advertising is disabled. K-12th grade students are issued an @gilpin.k12.co.us email address which also serves as their login for G Suite for Education.

Student email can only be used within the District between students and teachers. School faculty and staff will monitor student use of G Suite for Education when students are at school. Parents are responsible for monitoring their student's use of G Suite for Education when accessing the program at home. Students are responsible for their own behavior at all times.

What is G Suite for Education?

G Suite for Education is a specialized implementation of G Suite, tailored specifically for educational institutions. Provided by Google at no cost to schools, the web based suite of programs includes some key differences for education, such as the removal of any and all advertising content.

The G Suite for Education agreement with GCSD provides access to Google Applications and online storage. GCSD maintains the ability to manage users, groups, and settings directly. This means that GCSD can grant and revoke user access and control other settings to ensure a safe and secure collaboration environment for students and teachers.

All of the Google Apps services can be accessed from any compatible device with an internet connection (computers, Chromebooks, smartphones, tablets, etc.). This reduces and replaces the need for flash drives and/or external data drives to transport documents and other files. G Suite for Education is Internet-based, ensuring that faculty and students can log on anytime, anywhere. In addition, G Suite for Education allows faculty and students to easily share documents and files, enabling students to turn in assignments electronically and collaborate on projects with their classmates.

G Suite for Education includes the following programs:

Google Calendar

An individual calendar providing the ability to organize schedules, daily activities, and assignments.

Google Drive

Google Drive provides cloud storage space for most file formats. Google Drive can be accessed and/or shared from any computer or other compatible device with an Internet connection.

Google Docs

Word processing program similar to Microsoft Word.

Google Sheets

Spreadsheet program similar to Microsoft Excel.

Google Slides

Multimedia presentation program similar to Microsoft PowerPoint.

Google Forms

Survey/data collection tool for creating forms and collecting data.

Google Drawings

Simple graphic design program.

Using these tools, students can collaboratively create, edit and share files and websites for school related projects and communicate via email with other students and teachers. These services are entirely online and available 24/7 from any internet-connected computer. Examples of student use include showcasing class projects, building an electronic portfolio of school learning experiences, and working in small groups on presentations to share with others.

Acceptable Use

The GCSD G Suite for Education domain is intended for educational use. Use of G Suite for Education is governed by the GCSD Acceptable Use Policy, the GCSD Internet Safety Policy, and the GCSD Student Code of Conduct.

Privacy

GCSD faculty and administration have access to student email and documents for monitoring purposes. Students have no expectation of privacy on the GCSD G Suite for Education domain.

Limited personal use

Students may use G Suite for Education for personal projects, such as word processing. Examples of inappropriate personal use include (but are not limited to):

Unlawful activities

Commercial purposes

Use for personal financial gain

Inappropriate sexual or other offensive content

Threatening or bullying others

Misrepresentation of the GCSD, faculty, staff or students (G Suite for Education resources including but not limited to Apps, sites, email, and groups are not public forums - they are extensions of classroom spaces where student free speech rights may be limited)

Safety

Students should not post personal contact information about themselves or other people, including addresses and phone numbers

Students should tell their teacher or other school employee about any message they receive that is inappropriate or makes them feel uncomfortable

Students are responsible for the use of their individual accounts and should take all reasonable precautions to prevent others from being able to use their account

Under no conditions should a user provide his or her password to another person

Access Restriction

Access to G Suite for Education is a privilege accorded at the discretion of GCSD. GCSD maintains the right to immediately withdraw the access and use of G Suite for Education in accordance with the GCSD Acceptable Use Policy and/or other pertinent GCSD policies.

Student G Suite for Education Account Set-up

Students in grades K-12 will be assigned an @gilpin.k12.co.us email account. This account will be considered the student's official GCSD email address until such time as the student is no longer enrolled at GCSD.

Student Gmail Permissions

GCSD student Gmail accounts cannot receive email from outside of the gilpin.k12.co.usdomain, and will not be able to send email to anyone outside of the GCSD domain. Therefore, students should not use their GCSD email for registering accounts for third-party sites or services that require email verification, unless specifically pre-approved by the GCSD Information Technology Department or under the direction of GCSD faculty.

Uses for Student Gmail

Email is a powerful communication tool for students that can serve to increase communication and collaboration. Students are encouraged to check their email at least once per day. Teachers may send email to middle and high school students to communicate reminders, course content, pose questions related to class work, or to relay other instructional information. Students may send email to their teachers with questions or comments regarding their courses. Students may also send email to other students with whom they are collaborating on group projects or other assignments, as instructed.

Student Email to Faculty

Students are encouraged to email faculty concerning school-related content and questions. However, there is no requirement or expectation that faculty will answer student email outside of their regular work day, although they will have the ability if they so choose.

General Email and Overall Google Domain Guidelines

Below is a general summary of guidelines related to email:

Email is to be used for school-related communication only

Do not send harassing or offensive email or content

Do not send unsolicited "spam" email or content

Do not send email containing viruses or other malicious content

Do not send or read email at inappropriate times, such as during class instruction

Do not send email to share test answers or promote cheating in any way

Do not use the account of another person for any reason

Content Filtering and Monitoring

Email sent within the GCSD domain may be monitored and/or filtered based upon content. Rules and filters are set up to monitor student email for profanity, harassment, and other inappropriate content. Student email that is identified as inappropriate will be reviewed by the school administration.

Additional information regarding content filtering and monitoring is detailed in the GCSD Acceptable Use Policy.

Applicable Laws and Policies

These are the laws and policies that help to protect our students online:

The school is required by CIPA to have technology measures and policies in place that protect students from harmful materials including those that are obscene and pornographic. This means that student email is filtered. Mail containing harmful content from inappropriate sites will be blocked.

COPPA applies to commercial companies and limits their ability to collect personal information from children under 13. By default, Google advertising is turned off for Apps for Education users. No personal student information is collected for commercial purposes. This policy allows the school to act as an agent for parents in the collection of information within the school context. The school's use of student information is solely for education purposes.

FERPA protects the privacy of student education records and gives parents rights to review student records. Under FERPA, schools may disclose directory information (name, phone, address, grade level, etc...) but parents may request that the school not disclose this information. The school will not publish confidential educational records (grades, student ID #, etc...) for public viewing on the Internet.

The school may publish student work and photos for public viewing but will not publish student last names or other personally identifiable information.

Parents may request that photos, names and general directory information about their children not be published.

Parents have the right to investigate the contents of their child's email and Apps for Education files at any time.